SMART Specialists has placed thousands of students in University undergraduate and postgraduate courses. At any given time, our staff will have organised the placement and supervision of approximately 450 University students per year, and we have been organising these courses for the past 20 years. SMART has good working relationships with Universities throughout the UK, and a number of top organisations in the US, Canada and Europe.

SMART will provide an end-to-end University placement service for international undergraduate and postgraduate students who wish to begin a course at a top UK university. We have an extensive knowledge of the Universities in the UK, and can assist in the identification of the exact course you require. Advice is given on the reputation of the University and on the course as these are not mutually exclusive (as an example, some lower ranked Universities have an outstanding course which is rated top in the country).

SMART’s placement process follows the same basic procedure for individual candidates or for major industrial or academic contracts with large numbers of applicants from the same company or industry group. Every candidate is always treated as an individual, and our personal advisor will work directly with the applicant, using the guidelines listed below.

Undergraduate & Postgraduate University Placement

Private Applicants, Individuals or Small Groups

SMART will assign you a personal advisor, designated to assist you to achieve your academic goals.

Assess all previous qualifications, including English Language.

Provide an estimate yof the period of English language training required, as necessary.

Organise the appropriate test of English, IELTS or Toefl.

Provide course details, University information and city outline of 3 possible University options.

Assist with the completion of the application form, including advising on all supporting documentation and references.

Provision of visa support documentation, as necessary.

We will advise you on any additional requirements for your course, for example, undergraduate medicine or law require additional entry examinations, and have earlier application deadlines. Whatever your requirements, you can be sure that as soon as you make contact or arrive in the UK as a SMART student, you will be assigned a personal advisor, who will deal with your case on a one to one basis, and will work with you until you achieve acceptance for the course you wish to attend.

Procedures for Large Groups of Students

In cases where a client has a long-term requirement for International University placement for its employees, SMART has a complete programme for the processing of large scale applications for a group of students from one organisation or government department. The standard procedure listed above still applies, with the addition of the following: -

SMART will visit the home location of the students and organise the review of qualifications and assist (if required) in the selection process.

Arrange for an external examiner to conduct IELTS or Toefl examinations in your home location, or conduct a lower level of English language testing, as required by the applicants.

Assess the English language levels of all candidates, and where necessary, set up in your home city or employers location an intensive English language course, to bring all candidates up to a minimum level or IELTS/Toefl, prior to travelling overseas.

Review all documentation and suggest an appropriate learning path for each candidate, e.g. additional English required, IELTS/Toefl score required, basic or update of computer skills, and provision of course data on suitable programmes in the location required by the employer or desired by the candidate.

Assist in the application process, completion of application forms, co-ordinate all documentation and liaise with Universities.

Obtain conditional acceptances for all candidates**

Arrange a pre sessional English course in the University/suitable establishment to assist any weaker candidates or to act as an introduction for the more confident candidates.

**SMART guarantees that every candidate who attains the required entry levels in English, and has appropriate previous qualifications or completes a Foundation course/ Pre Masters programme, organised by SMART will achieve a placement in an International University.

Choice of University

SMART has experiences in almost all academic subjects, but has particular expertise in technical and engineering subjects for the petrochemical industry. The final choice of university will depend on your academic and study record, your IELTS examination score and your final grade on your University Transcript.

Pre Qualifying and Pre-Degree Courses

SMART can arrange placement on University Foundation courses, Pre-masters course or a College based conversion courses which, for example can take candidates from the equivalent of the UK Higher National Diploma (highest level of technician qualification) through a 1 year intensive conversion course to achieve BSc degree level. This is clearly dependant on the required subject.

Undergraduate Study

For British universities, all applications for undergraduate study must be made through the UCAS system. SMART can help our candidates with this and deal with application forms and the entire process. British universities accept some International High School level qualifications, but prestigious Universities and highly competitive courses (e.g. medicine and law) require all candidates to have A levels or the International Baccalaureate. SMART can place prospective candidates onto intensive A level or Baccalaureate courses to achieve the required entry levels needed for the course they require.

University Foundation Courses

University Foundation courses are available throughout the UK in Colleges, Universities and Private Training Centres, and are specifically designed to prepare international students for undergraduate entry to British universities without having to take A-Levels or Baccalaureate qualifications.

We will place our students into an appropriate College and follow their progress on a regular basis to ensure that our students receive the academic preparation they need for acceptance at a UK university.

Pre Masters Course

In some cases, students who already hold a degree from their home country may find difficulty in gaining access to the course or University they wish. Comparative qualifications may not be compatible with the UK/European/US/Canadian system, and the candidate will require extra training in advance of starting a Masters Degree. In these cases, SMART can place the candidate on a 1 academic year (39 week) pre Masters course, and will then follow the normal procedure for University placement.

UK Universities

SMART sponsored students and graduates have entered many different universities in the UK, on a wide variety of very different undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Please see further details of past courses in our course search option in the Training section of our website.

Our current and previous students have been placed in the following UK universities:

Aberdeen

Abertay

Aberystwyth

Aston

Bangor

Bath

Birmingham

Bradford

Brighton

Brunel

Cardiff

Central Lancashire

Coventry

Derby

DeMontfort

Dundee

Durham

East London

Edinburgh

Essex

Exeter

Glamorgan

Glasgow

Glasgow Caledonian

Greenwich

Heriot Watt

Imperial College

Kent

Kingston

Leeds, Leeds Metropolitan

Leicester

Liverpool

Loughborough

London

London City

London Metropolitan

LSE

London South Bank

Lancashire

Liverpool John Moores

Manchester

Manchester Metropolitan

Middlesex, Napier

Newcastle

Nottingham Trent

Northumbria

Oxford Brookes

Paisley

Portsmouth

Plymouth

Reading

Robert Gordon’s

Royal Holloway

Sheffield

Sheffield Hallam

SOAS

Southampton

Staffordshire

Strathclyde

Stirling

Surrey

Teesside

TVU (Thames Valley University)

UCE Birmingham

Westminster

Wales.

US Universities

University of Texas

Texas A & M, Oklahoma University

University of Tulsa

Oklahoma State University

Colorado School of Mines

MIT

University of Dallas

Rice University

Webster University

University of Missouri

Rollo – Missouri University,

Canadian Universities

Alberta

UBC

Regina

McGill

Memorial

Calgary

Saskatchewan

Ottawa

Queens

Brock

Toronto

UNB

Victoria

Concordia

NAIT

SAIT

Lakeland College

Grant McEwan College

Simon Fraser

Dalhousie

McMasters

Waterloo

Mowhawk College

SMART’s Successful Students

SMART’s students have an excellent success rate. This is due to their hard work, but the correct placement in an appropriate University, ensuring the correct starting level of English language, good preparation and the careful monitoring and follow up are important contributors to the success to the candidate.

SMART does not end its contact with the student at the point they gain entry to University. We know how stressful this can be, and sometimes International students can become overwhelmed by the differences in styles of education, raised standard of the course, or any number of confusing cultural differences. SMART offers several support packages for our students in University:-

1. Academic Monitoring:

SMART will, with the approval of the employer and student (in compliance with the Data Protection Act), set up regular reporting periods and arrange for detailed progress and attendance reports to be sent to the employer, sponsor or parent. SMART will forward examination marks, successes and or problems and will work with the student and academic supervisor to solve any academic problems on the course.

2. Welfare Support:

This package provides each student with an induction pack, accommodation references, assistance with opening a bank account, registration with a local doctor, airport pickup &Hotel accommodation on arrival, excluding direct cost. We also supply an emergency help line 7 days per week (office hours) to support any emergency.

3. Full Financial, Administrative and Academic Package.

Attached you will find details of our full package which list all our administrative services and includes the academic monitoring listed above. This package operates 365 days per year, 24 hours per day and will guarantee total peace of mind, as SMART Specialists will be on hand at any time to help or support you or your candidate.

SMART can help you to achieve academic success in your chosen subject.